Janet Stewart, MSc,  —

Patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) taking Arena Pharmaceuticals‘ next-generation therapy Ralinepag (APD811) showed significant improvements in blood flow and exercise capacity in a Phase 2 clinical trial. Results of the study (NCT02279160) will be presented at the American College…

An inherited virus’ shift from a dormant to an active mode appears to be linked to the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension in rats, a study reports. Scientists may be able to develop PAH therapies around the idea of preventing the human endogenous retrovirus K (HERV-K) from becoming active, the study added.

Researchers found that impaired right atrium (RA) function in patients with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) carries a worse prognosis, or expected outcome. The right atrium is the upper chamber of the heart that pumps blood from the veins into the right ventricle (RV). The study, “Right atrial function…

Bellerophon recently announced promising results in a trial assessing INOpulse, its investigational treatment device for pulmonary hypertension associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (PH-COPD). Results showed the device led to an average increase in exercise capacity by the end of the four-week trial and a decrease in lung artery blood pressure.

A treatment given people with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) — Sprycel (dasatinib) — is known to cause pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in some. Now, researchers in France report that PAH may persist in 37 percent of these leukemia patients for years after the therapy is stopped, although discontinuation is of…

Reviva Pharmaceuticals‘ RP5063 prevented rats from developing pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), according to a Canadian study. In addition to precluding heart and blood vessel damage in the animals, RP5063 decreased levels of cytokines, or proteins associated with inflammation. The study, published in the European Journal of Pharmacology, was titled “…

Human cardiotrophin 1 protein (hCT1) stimulates heart muscle growth in rats with induced right heart failure (RHF) due to severe pulmonary arterial hypertension, leading to improved heart function, a new study shows. The results suggest that hCT1 could be beneficial for patients with an intractable form of heart failure. The study, “Cardiotrophin 1…

The ratio between the proteins MMP2 and TIMP4 in blood samples of idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (iPAH) patients was found to predict disease worsening and mortality in a German study. It also correlated with mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP), pulmonary vascular resistance, and other indicators of disease progression. The study, “…

The survival rate of pulmonary hypertension patients who received heart and lung transplants increased after France began giving transplant priority to those experiencing life-threatening episodes, a study reports. The high-priority list covered PH patients who had signed up for heart-lung transplants, or HLTs, and double lung transplants, or  DLTs. Researchers published…

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was associated with higher mortality rates after bilateral lung transplantation (transplantation of both lungs), but not after single lung transplantation (LTx), according to a new study of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) database. The study, “…

Adverse drug events (ADEs) associated with subcutaneous treprostinil use for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) were found not to be associated with a higher mortality risk, except for ADEs involving gastrointestinal side effects, which may indicate that the PAH patient population can be divided into subgroups that respond differently…

Balloon pulmonary angioplasty, a procedure to widen narrowed lung blood vessels, was still benefitting patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) six months after doctors performed it, a Japanese study found. The procedure increased patients’ cardiac output, or amount of the blood the heart is pumping, and exercise capacity, researchers said.